How to Balance Family with Training
Balance: one of the most difficult parts of having a family and being an athlete. My children are a little older now, 10 and 12 and they are responsible enough to be at the house alone for a couple of hours while I go take care of myself.
While I was juggling; coaching, training, motherhood, I had to remain flexible in my mind set. I always, always set a schedule. This is probably the most important part of balance, time management. I print out a weekly calendar, scheduled all my obligations and then, came back in put in my training. Its important when doing your schedule that you include the smallest of details: breakfast, lunch, dinner, work, bedtime routine, etc.
My current schedule is flexible so it’s easier to balance my training with my family life, but it hasn’t always been that way. I have remained flexible over the years and I have always maintained a schedule. Not every day can we keep to our schedule and that’s where flexibility comes in. The schedule is a guideline, it’s to keep us on track but in the same token, it’s imperative to not beat yourself up if the schedule changes in the course of the day. We have some control over what happens to us in our lives, however, we are not in complete control. We do always have control how we react to situations, and this is also true when it comes to race day. How do I deal with my workout schedule being derailed, do I make up the workout? This is when it’s best to have obtained a coach, so I can keep your schedule on track for your goals without overtraining.
One thing that has been consistently true for me over the years, I do not do well working out at night. I know plenty of people where they do well working out after work. There are some factors that will play a role in how successful you are scheduling your workouts after work.
Be prepared. Afternoon cup of coffee, 1-2 snacks available, one being dense protein, and pack your stuff with you so you’re ready for anything. Prepare yourself mentally, if you’re planning on going home before your workout, there may be some skeletons that come out of the closet to derail you, be prepared. If you’re typically a night owl then, after work, may be the time that works best for you. Don’t plan on going to sleep within 2 hours of completing a workout, and it may be upwards to 3 hours.
I’m a morning person. I have been up as early as 3:30 or 4 am to complete a workout. It can take anywhere between 2 to 4 weeks for your body to adjust to this early to rise scenario. As long as my children have been alive, I have gone to bed with them, and occasionally falling asleep during story.
My favorite time is lunch time. This requires a lot of discipline and planning. It involves a cooler and going to the grocery store, generally on the weekends and preparing your food ahead of time. In order to workout at lunch you must eat your lunch at your desk before your break, or find times, during ‘non lunch’ to eat that does not affect your productivity. I eat between appointments or while I’m working on the computer. I even have eaten in the car on the way to the trail. Then, the lunch bell rings, and I’m ready to break free of the desk and go for a ride or a run.
Some employers encourage their employees to work out. They know that workers who engage in regular physical activity will have less lost days because of illness, and that their health insurance costs will be less for their employees who regularly exercise. Some insurance companies will actually pay for a percentage of your health club membership, if you use it 2 days per week or more.
Your employer may be more willing to adapt your schedule to improve your productivity by allowing flexibility in your work hours. For example they may let you come late and stay late, or come early and leave early, I even know companies who will actually grant 2 hour lunches for their employees to work out. These ‘non traditional hours’ make it easier for employees to commute back and forth to work spending less time in the car and increase employee morale and productivity making it win-win for all parties involved.
Scheduling hasn’t always been easy for my family. We came up with ways that it would work for both my husband and I. I have always been active, so we invested money in bicycle trailers, and joggers, and belonged to health clubs with 25 yard or meter pools that had day care providers, and we even enlisted babysitters, when needed.
The girls began their adventures while they were still in car seats. I think I was actually a stronger cyclist when my I was pulling my kids in the bicycle trailer, always developing power. It’s quite an ordeal to get 2 car seats, snacks, water, and tons of toys in a double Burley, but it’s doable. It’s important to be flexible during this time, because inevitably, there will be stops because of crying kids. The different types of equipment that is available to help us parents continue our active lifestyle is amazing. We even owned a jogger that had 2 inches of travel so I could run and hike on the trails. This is the type of equipment that is easy to come by either through donation of friends whose kids have out grown them or for purchase of lightly used equipment.
The most helpful part of balance is having a supportive spouse. It’s also important to know, that you are being active for your health, but also for the health of your relationship and family. The single most helpful thing that my husband and I have done over the years is to do our workout in shifts. We decide who is going to have which shift on which day of the weekend. Whoever gets the morning on Saturday gets the afternoon on Sunday and you have an agreed upon time limit and you get back on time so the other person can then have their time.
Maybe your spouse doesn’t work out, they can still enjoy ‘their alone time’ by going to store by themselves, a true rarity in itself, social gatherings with friends or maybe they have time to get a manicure or a massage.
If your kids are older, that’s when it’s time to begin their active lifestyle. You can ride bikes together, or run while their riding, go hiking, they can play swim while you’re swimming laps etc. There’s plenty of ways to get your workouts in, sometimes, it’s a matter of getting creative.
In between car seats and working out with them, or leaving them at home, I would plan my workouts around their scheduled activities. I would swim while they were in their swim lessons, ride the bike during soccer, or run during tennis. This is an amazing way to get your kids active and live through example.